I STOOD in Brighton Kemptown for the Greens in 2015, receiving 3,200 votes. Many more said they wanted to vote Green but would vote tactically for Labour because they didn’t want the Tory, Simon Kirby, to win. But he did, with a majority of less than 700 votes.

The Greens felt there was a real danger that he would be re-elected if the progressive vote in the constituency was split again. So we decided, for this General Election only, to withdraw unilaterally our candidate.

This is no ordinary general election. The outcome will have a massive impact on the country and on this city. Theresa May seeks a huge majority for the most extreme Brexit and right wing government in my lifetime: a terrifying prospect. We decided to do all we could to stop the Tories getting that majority.

This decision has encouraged people in other constituencies around the country where the Tory MP has a slim majority to consider doing something similar – for the greater good of defeating the Tories.

Is it right to ever stand down in elections? I would ask people to look at the bigger picture. Quite simply, our current old-fashioned (first past the post) voting system forces people in marginal seats like Kemptown to “vote tactically”. If you vote for what you believe in, in many seats you may end up with the opposite, as happened to Green and Labour voters in Kemptown last time.

We want the next Government to introduce a fairer, proportional voting system where every vote matters and people can safely vote for what they believe in.

There is no chance of a Tory Government doing that, because they benefit from the current system, which is another reason why defeating as many Tory MPs as possible is so important.

Davy Jones is co-chairman of the Brighton and Hove Green Party